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Archive for the ‘Chicken Licken’ Category

Oh, It’s Glorious!

It is only the 25th day of the month in this brand new year and yet, I can already feel the tiredness of  being in the working world. I know that it’s my choice to be a working mom but I bet, it’s okay to let out your feelings once in a while. Anyway, trying my very best to make full use of my time, I’ve decided to share a recipe with all of you, my dear readers.

I received two packets of spices from my friend, who hails from Terengganu. Just like me, she enjoys good food and you can always depend on her on great selection of eating and meeting places. What makes these packets special is, we’ve been friends for at least 19 years and no doubt, it is always food which binds us together.  Since it was my first time preparing the dish, I followed the recipe stated on the back of the spice packet. I was very happy that I decided to try cooking the dish. It tasted good and I will definitely cook this dish again. Aha, not to forget, Moktang, if you ever come across this entry, it is specially dedicated to you! (psstttt….don’t forget to get more spice packets for me whenever you’re in Terengganu ya!)

THE TREASURED PACKETS OF SPICES

‘MASAK GULAI BUNGA ROSE’

Ingredients :

1 kg of chicken (cut into small pieces)

  • 10 shallots
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 1 inch piece of ginger
  • 1/2 inch piece of galangal
  • 1/2 inch piece of turmeric root
  • 8g of Rempah Masak Cap Bunga Rose ( I used 2 teaspoonfuls) 
  • chilli paste ( I used 2 tablespoonfuls)
  • tamarind ( I used 1/2 tablespoonful of Adabi tamarind paste)
  • sugar and salt to taste
  • coconut milk ( I used a packet of Ayam’s brand coconut cream, about 200ml, diluted with similar amount of water)
  • cooking oil ( I used about 5 tablespoonfuls)
  • 1 large onion (sliced into rings)

Method :

  1. Firstly, grind shallots, garlic, ginger, galangal and turmeric root finely and add in chilli paste and rempah masak.
  2. Pour ground ingredients into a big bowl and put in your chicken pieces. Mix well and let to marinate for 15 minutes.
  3. Next, heat some cooking oil and put in the marinated chicken pieces.
  4. Stir occasionally and once the chicken is half-cooked, pour in the coconut milk.
  5. Lower the heat and let to simmer till your chicken pieces are tender.
  6. Add in tamarind paste, salt and sugar to taste. Scatter the onion rings, stir for another 5 minutes and turn the heat off.
  7. Serve hot with plain, boiled rice.
  8. Isn’t friendship a glorious thing ?

Category:

Ceritera Cikyah, Chicken Licken

Surviving A Battle

My Daus has never been keen on rice except nasi lemak and chicken rice. Trying to feed him rice is quite taxing most of the time. Well, in my attempt to win a battle, here’s what I’d prepared for him during the Deepavali break. As usual, some improvisations and amendments had taken place. Here’s the recipe if you feel like trying.

SIMPLE CHICKEN RICE

Source : city@Myresipi

Ingredients :

(A)

  • 1 chicken (about 1.5kg) (cleaned and quartered)
  • enough water to boil the chicken

(B) (To marinade the chicken)

  • 4 tablespoonfuls of chilli sauce
  • 3 tablespoonfuls of sweet soy sauce
  • 2 cloves of garlic (finely pounded)
  • 1 tablespoonful of sugar
  • salt to taste

(C) (For the soup)

  • 2 cloves of garlic (bruised)
  • 1 lemongrass (bruised)
  • 1 inch piece of ginger (bruised)
  • 1 packet of ‘sup bunjut’ ( I replaced this with 1 small piece of cinnamon bark, 3 cloves, 2 cardamom pods and 1 piece of star anise)

(D) (For the chilli sauce)

  • 3 ripe tomato
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 3 fresh red chilies
  • 4 bird’s eye chillies ( I used 2)
  • 2 teaspoonfuls of vinegar
  • salt and sugar to taste

(E) (For the rice)

  • 4 cups of rice ( I used basmathi rice, soaked for 10 minutes and drained)
  • 5 cups of water
  • 3 tablespoonfuls of cooking oil
  • 2 tablespoonfuls of butter
  • 3 shallots (thinly sliced)
  • 2 cloves of garlic (thinly sliced)
  • 1 inch piece of ginger (thinly sliced)
  • 1 screwpine leaf (shredded and tied into a knot)
  • salt to taste

Method :

  1. In a large pot, put in the chicken, water and ingredients in (C) except lemongrass, cinnamon bark, cloves, cardamom pods and star anise and and let to boil rapidly. Once the chicken is cooked, remove from the liquid and keep aside. Put in the remaining ingredients in (C)let to boil for another 15 minutes and add salt to taste.
  2. Meanwhile, mix all ingredients in (B) and put in the cooked chicken pieces and mix well. Keep aside for at least 15 minutes. You can either fry or bake the chicken  but do not throw away the remaining liquid because you can use this liquid as the soy sauce. Just add about 3 tablespoonfuls of sweet soy sauce, a pinch of salt and 2 tablespoonfuls of water and heat over small fire for 5-8 minutes. As for the chicken, I baked mine in the oven at 150C (roasting option) for 10-12 minutes for each side.
  3. For the rice, heat oil in your rice pot and add in butter. Once butter is melted, stir fry sliced shallots, ginger and garlic till fragrant. Add in screwpine leaf and rice and stir till each grain of rice is coated with oil.
  4. Put in water and let to cook.
  5. For the chilli sauce, put all ingredients in the blender and grind till fine. I heat up this mixture over small fire for 10 minutes.
  6. Serve your chicken rice with the soup, sliced cucumber and tomatoes.

Category:

Ceritera Cikyah, Chicken Licken

Fast to Cook, Better to Eat!

Those who venture the kitchen on a daily basis, would definitely face ‘a cook’s block’, which means, you can’t really figure out what to prepare. It seems as if you’ve prepared everything that could be cooked. Nothing seems interesting or challenging anymore but there are mouths to feed and time is running out, so you begin to feel the tension building up. The easiest option, stating a matter of fact, would be eating out. However, having to dress up and decide where to go and what to order would make you think twice. So, how do you tackle the matter?

Many would opt for instant noodles or fried eggs topped with soy sauce over a plate of white rice. On the other hand, those who don’t really prefer rice would go for sandwiches or simply having a few pieces of biscuits dipped in a piping hot mug of Milo. Well, the problem seems to be sorted out if you are alone but what if you have more than one mouth (with different preference, undoubtedly) to feed? In order to settle this matter, I’ve decided to share this simple roast chicken recipe – my problem solver on my ‘cook’s block’ days. Who would say ‘NO’  to a roast chicken? Do have  try because  it is very straight forward, just like the MAGGI Instant noodles tagline -Fast to Cook, Better to eat!

SIMPLE ROAST CHICKEN ALA CIKYAH

Ingredients :

  • 1 chicken (about 1-1.5kg) (cleaned and pat dry)
  • 2 onion
  • 5 cloves of garlic
  • 1 inch piece of ginger
  • 10 pieces of dried chillies (seeded, soaked in boiling water and drained)
  • 2 teaspoonfuls of fennel seeds
  • 2 teaspoonfuls of cummin seeds
  • 1 tablespoonful of coriander seeds
  • 1 piece of chicken cube
  • 1 teaspoonful of turmeric powder
  • 2 tablespoonful of sweet soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoonfuls of cooking oil
  • salt to taste
  • enough aluminium

Method :

  1. Preheat your oven at 170C ( I used the roasting option) for 15 minutes.
  2. Grind onion, garlic, ginger,dried chillies, fennel seeds,cummin seeds and coriander seeds till fine.
  3. Put ground into a bowl and add in other ingredients till a paste is formed.
  4. Rub this paste all over your chicken. Next, put your chicken onto a roasting tin and cover tightly with aluminium foil.
  5. Bake the chicken covered for 1 hour.
  6. Then, remove the foil and reduce the temperature to 150C and bake for another 15 minutes to brown the skin.
  7. Serve hot.

Category:

Chicken Licken

Mom’s Is Always The Best!

I have often stressed that mothers should cook for their kids so, when they grow up, they (just like yours truly) would have fond memories of their mothers. Besides, showing love through food is the easiest way to melt a person’s heart. As mothers are always full of love and care, anything prepared by our moms would be excitingly enjoyed and forever cherished.

I decided to prepare the dish in the photo below for several reasons. The first reason is of course, trying a new recipe. The second one is to show appreciation to those trainees who have given me the the recipe book which the recipe is taken from. The third reason is, last but not least, it’s Chef Wan’s and this recipe is a valid evidence to support my say on why mothers should cook. If a great chef like Chef Wan has decided to feature his mom’s simple chicken recipe, don’t you think that it’s about time to venture into the kitchen and start pampering your loved ones with your prepared-with-love creations?

Anyway, on a different note, Ayie, and Tria, in case you come across this entry, it’s dedicated to both of  you, my dearies.

‘MUM’S CHICKEN SAMBAL‘

Ingredients :

(A)

  • 12 chicken pieces ( I used half of a medium size chicken)
  • 1 tablespoonful of ground turmeric
  • 1 tablespoon of salt
  • cooking oil for deep- frying
  • 3 sprigs of curry leaves
  • 4 tablespoonfuls of tamarind juice (extracted from 1 tablespoonful of tamarind pulp and 4 tablespoonfuls of water)
  • 4 tablespoonfuls of water ( I added 1/2 cup of water because I prefer more gravy)
  • 3 potatoes (cut into wedges and deep fried ( I omitted)
  • 2 tomatoes (quartered)
  • salt and sugar to taste

(B) (spice paste)

  •  20 dried chillies (seeded and soaked in water and drained)
  • 1 and 1/2 tablespoonfuls of coriander seeds
  • 1 tablespoonful of fennel seeds
  • 1 tablespoonful of cumin seeds
  • 1 cm knob of ginger
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 8 shallots

Method :

  1. Combine spice paste ingredients in a blender until smooth
  2. Rub chicken with turmeric and salt.
  3. Heat oil and deep-fry chicken just until cooked. Do not let it become crisp. Drain.
  4. Using the same wok, reserve 3 tablespoonfuls of oil used for frying the chicken. Saute spice paste together with curry leaves until fragrant.
  5. Add fried chicken, tamarind juice and water. Cook until gravy is thick.
  6. Add potatoes and tomatoes. Season with salt and sugar and stir for 3 minutes.
  7. Dish out and serve.

NOTE : I took two pieces of chicken while my daughter, Atush, had second helpings and to tell you the truth, she’s very picky. Mr KHz had at least 3 pieces of chicken. Pak Incik Besar finished up the remaining pieces and I was one happy cook!

Category:

Chicken Licken

Cooking Chicky With No Electricity

As Sundays have always been allocated for cooking dishes ‘ordered’ by Mr KHz and the kids, I actually dragged myself to the kitchen last week to keep my promise. You see, when there’s school on Saturday, I would feel very, very tired on the day after. Instantly, that particular Sunday would feel very short.  This is worsen by the fact that I have to attend to my English Society meeting on the next day (Monday) as early as 8.45a.m.! Well, age is definitely catching up and with me, it is very, very fast.

Since I’ve told my helper to thaw the chicken from the freezer, I had to make do with it. Besides, there’s no other raw ingredients in the freezer. Initially, I planned to prepare chicken soup for the kids love slurping it with blanched rice vermicelli but I remembered that we already had the fried version of the noodles for breakfast on Saturday morning.  Mr KHz would be okay with any chicken dish so I decided to try another Rubiah Suparman’s creation. As for the kids, I know they would be very delighted with my Spaghetti with Meat Sauce.

I chose the recipe because it is simple. However, no matter how simple a recipe can be, disasters do happen in the coking world.  As the chicken pieces were baking, Daus ran to me and mentioned that the washing machine was not working. What? I went and checked and realized that there was no electricity. It was definitely the time to panic for my chicken was still in the oven and it was half-cooked! I took the chicken pieces out of the oven and was thinking very, very hard on how to settle the matter. Trying to keep calm, I continued stirring the sauce for the chicken and decided to pan-fry my poor Mr Chicky. However, Lady Luck was on my side for soon after, the electricity was back.

Just to let you know that I followed the recipe but as usual, I did slight changes in the cooking techniques. I do feel that the chicken would taste better if it is cooked over charcoal fire – the way it is usually done. Anyway, here’s the recipe which might be useful on those tiring and mundane days!

‘AYAM PERCIK ALA PUTERI’

Ingredients :

  • 1 chicken (about 1 kg) – cut into four large pieces
  • 3 pips of garlic
  • 1 onion
  • 1/2 inch piece of ginger
  • 1 teaspoonful of salt

Method :

  1. Preheat your oven at 170C. I used the roasting option but I guess, any over would be able to do the trick
  2. Ground garlic, onion and ginger finely and mix with salt. Run this onto the chicken pieces and marinade for 15 minutes.
  3. Put into a baking dish and bake till cooked. I bake my chicken for 30 minutes on one side. Then, I flip the chicken and bake for another 30 minutes.
  4. Leave your chicken pieces in the baking dish to cool.

For the sauce :

  • 1 and 1/2 cups of thick coconut milk ( I used 200ml of Ayam Brand coconut cream, mixed with water to get 300ml of coconut milk)
  • 15 shallots
  • 1 inch piece of ginger
  • 2 tablespoonfuls of chilli paste
  • 2 stalks of lemongrass (bruised)
  • 2 tablespoonfuls of sugar
  • salt to taste
  • 3 tablespoonfuls of cooking oil

Method :

  1. Grind shallots and ginger finely.
  2. Heat the oil and stir fry ground ingredients till fragrant.
  3. Then, put in the chilli paste, lemongrass, coconut milk, sugar and salt and cook till the mixture becomes thick.
  4. Next, set your oven at grill function. Spoon the sauce over your chicken and grill for 10 minutes. Flip and do the same with the remaining sauce.

Note :  Mr KHz gave 8.0 rating for this dish.

Category:

Chicken Licken, Kitchen Stories

Last but Never The Least

The photo for this particular recipe has been in my photo folder for quite some time but sincerely, I didn’t know why it slipped my mind. Judging from the photo, I tried to recall (which happens to get more difficult lately) which recipe book that I’d referred to. I was pretty sure that it wasn’t from MyResipi.com so I had narrowed down my search into two parts, namely Rubiah Suparman and Chef Wan.

As I flipped through my recipe books by these two chefs, I finally managed to find the wanted recipe. All that I could remember was the recipe requires candle nuts, Thai basil and fresh red chillies. Eventually, I managed to locate it. It’s another Chef Wan’s creation. Surprisingly, there’s no photo included with the recipe. Well, I guess, the photo below could be the closest of how the dish should look like.

SPECIAL ROASTED CHICKEN

Ingredients :

(A)

  • 1 whole chicken (about 1.5kg)
  • 1 teaspoonful of salt
  • 1 teaspoonful white pepper powder
  • 60ml cooking oil
  • 300ml thick coconut milk
  • 20 pieces of Thai basil leaves (I didn’t use this)
  • 1 tablespoonful of tamarind juice
  • salt and sugar to taste

(B) : (to be ground finely)

  • 6 fresh red chillies (deseeded)
  • 6 bird’s eyes chillies
  • 6 candle nuts
  • 8 shallots
  • 2 pips of garlic
  • 3cm piece of galangal

Method :

  1. Coat the chicken with 1 teaspoonful of salt and white pepper powder. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C till half cooked.
  2. In a large wok, heat the oil and stir fry ground ingredients till fragrant. Put in coconut milk and basil leaves and simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes.
  3. Then, put in the half-baked chicken and let to simmer till the gravy thickens.
  4. Pour in the tamarind juice, slat and sugar to taste and cook for another 3 minutes.
  5. Serve.

Note : Mr KHz gave a 7.5 rating for this dish.

Category:

Chicken Licken

What We Did In Canterbury

Good morrow to all. What’s your plan for today? I’m thinking of baking some chocolate chip cookies but I have to ask Atush first. When it comes to this particular item, she insists that she has to be part of  the making process. She always assists me to crush the cornflakes (you know, using the rolling pin and thats why she insisted to be included) and later, rolling the dough into small balls.  I’m a foodie and as a result,  I spend more time with my kids in the kitchen compared to other rooms in the house. Even Daus has shown his interest in baking. Whenever I bake, he will take the trouble to drag the kitchen stool so he would be sitting near to the mixer. Perhaps, it’s about time for me to spend some time gardening with these two so they won’t balloon up like their mother!

Why do I always associate food with memories? I don’t deny that some bad instances are part of these memories ( when the items prepared did not turn out as expected or totally inedible) but the good ones are far worthy to remember.  When I think of my college friends, I realize that it was cooking and eating that brought us together. We did go places but the car boot sale was the highlight of every Sunday.  Yes, you guessed it right. We were after the fresh produce and this definitely meant more eating involved.  I could still remember cooking rendang for Eid-ul Fitr and how we had to stand on chairs for the pot was extremely tall and yours truly, are vertically challenged!  Spending weekends with my friends means more chocolate cakes and yummy fried stuff! Until this very moment, I can still ‘taste’ the deep fried mushroom in batter from one of the fish and chips shops in High Street.  I attempted to recreate this snack but the taste is just not the same. You might say that I’m being ridiculous but I strongly believe those mushrooms tasted better then because I was surrounded by my friends.

When we had friends from other colleges coming for a visit, chicken rice would be the menu. It’s economical and was able to cater for everybody’s taste buds. Talking about chicken, a particular dish has always reminded me of a dear friend. It is a common dish found in most Malay weddings but the way my friend described how this dish reminds her of me is what makes this dish special. Lena Kamal, if you happen to come across this entry, it is specially dedicated to you.

AYAM MASAK MERAH (CHEF WAN’S RECIPE)

Ingredients:

(A)

  • 6 tablespoonfuls of ghee ( I used ordinary palm oil)
  • 4 cloves
  • 4 cardamom pods
  • 4 cm piece of cinnamon bark
  • 125ml water
  • 1 kg of chicken (cut into 12 and coated with 1 teaspoonful of turmeric and 1 tsp of salt and deep fried till cook and keep aside)
  • 125 raisins (finely chopped)
  • 250 ml  tomato sauce
  • 1 lemongrass (bruised)
  • 1 cm of galangal (bruised)
  • 2 teaspoonfuls of sesame seeds ( toasted
  • 3 tablespoonfuls of honey
  • salt to taste

(B) (to be ground finely)

  • 10 shallots
  • 2 pips of garlic
  • 2 cm piece of ginger
  • 1 lemongrass
  • 15 pieces of dried chillies (deseeded and soaked in boling water and drained)

Method :

  1. Heat ghee / cooking oil in a wok and put in cinnamon bark, cardamom pods, cloves and ground ingredients. Stir fry till fragrant.
  2. Then, put in water, fried chicken pieces, raisins, tomato sauce and honey and stir.
  3. Next, put in lemongrass, galangal and salt. Cook over medium heat until the gravy thickens.
  4. Transfer onto a serving dish and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

 

Category:

Chicken Licken, Kitchen Stories

A Lesson on Economy?

Good morrow and another new day has arrived, Alhamdulillah. What’s your plan for today? Hope that it starts well and ends well. Anyway, I shall rather keep this entry short for the dish that I’m going to feature is very common and perhaps, everyone can cook it. However, I want to share my Mak’s recipe of ‘Hati Ayam Masak Kicap’ or Chicken Liver in Soy Sauce . Economical yet satisfying. By the way, if you may ask, why chicken liver? It’s Mr KHz’s favourite and of course I couldn’t stop him from buying, especially when he comes along for our grocery shopping.

“HATI AYAM MASAK KICAP”


The ingredients needed to cook this dish are:

400g chicken livers (trimmed, cleaned and drained)
5 pips of garlic }
2 inch of ginger } finely ground
1 tsp of fennel seeds (finely pounded)
2 tbsps ground chilli paste
1 large onion ( cut into rings)
1 fresh red chilli (sliced thinly)
5 tbsps of sweet soy sauce
1/4 cup of oil
salt to taste

Method:

  1. Put the chicken livers in a bowl and add ground garlic, ginger and chilli paste. Mix well and marinate for 1 hour.
  2. After 1 hour, heat the oil in a wok and fry the marinated livers till half cooked and keep aside.
  3. Using the same oil, fry the onion, red chilli and ground fennel till fragrant. Put in the soy sauce and half-cooked chicken livers and stir gently.
  4. Add salt to taste and serve hot once the livers are cooked.

Category:

Chicken Licken

An Inspired Dish

Hi peeps! In this entry, I would feature a dish initially done by Mr K’s aunt who resides in Singapore. It was some time last year when I had the chance to see her preparing this dish when she came for a visit. Of course, the ever nosy me had asked for the recipe and I mentioned that I would be putting it in my blog. She gave the recipe but she had told me not to share it with others since it’s her family’s. Since I respect her, I have decided to feature this dish inspired by her after my trial and error session in the kitchen yesterday morning without revealing her original recipe. I managed to come up with this dish using her cooking techniques but the ingredients were my own concoction. Hence, feast your eyes upon…………………. 

 

ROAST CHICKEN AUNTIE KAK ONI’S STYLE
To cook this dish, you need:
  • 1 chicken (cleaned and cut into two)
  • 8 shallots
  • 5 pips of garlic
  • 2 cm piece of ginger
  • 3 tbsp of oyster sauce
  • 2 tbsp of sweet soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp of honey
  • 2 tbsp of freshly ground black peppercorns
  • salt to taste
  • 2 tbsp of cooking oil
  • enough water to submerge the chicken
Method:
  • Preheat your oven at 200C for 15 minutes.
  • First, ground the shallots, garlic and ginger.
  • Heat the oil in a tall pot and strir fry ground ingredients till fragrant and pour in the water and let to boil.
  • Next, put in the rest of the ingredients and put in the chicken.
  • Over medium heat, let the chicken cook in the broth. By the time your chicken is cooked, you should have a thick gravy.
  • Line your roasting pan with an aluminium foil and place your chicken. Pour the remaining gravy on top of your chicken.
  • Reduce your oven temperature to 180C and bake till the skin is crispy. I bake the chicken for 10 minutes.
  • Once cooked, take out from the oven and let to rest for 10 minutes.
  • Transfer onto a serving dish and spoon the chicken juice in the roasting pan on top of your chicken to keep it moist.
  • Enjoy!

Category:

Chicken Licken

"Mama, it’s not spicy enough!"

Good morning all. This entry features a dish that I have featured earlier but I have ammended the recipe because Atush mentioned that the original concoction was not spicy enough for her. Why don’t you try and let me know ya!
SPICY STICKY CHICKEN WINGS
To cook this dish, you only need:
12 pieces of chicken wings ( cut the tips off and each piece is cut into two)
3 pips of garlic(crushed)
1 tbsp of chopped ginger
2 tbsp of salty soy sauce
1 tbsp of fish sauce
2 tbsp of chilli powder
4tbsp of honey
2tbsp of cooking oil
Method:
  • In a wok, heat the oil and fry the ginger and garlic till fragrant. Put in the chicken wings and stir for 5 minutes.
  • Then, put in the other ingredients and stir for another 5 minutes and cover your wok.
  • Stir occasionally till tender and the sauce has thicken and coated your chicken wings.
  • Serve hot.

Category:

Chicken Licken

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